What’s Up With the Cornish Cross?

Share this:

I always look forward to Fair time. The poultry barn will be filled with interesting breeds of chickens. Beautiful specimens of Silver Laced Wyandottes, Crested Polish and Rhode Island Reds to name a few. The breeds on display boast near perfect plumage, wonderful body type, clean smooth legs…everything a healthy chicken is supposed to be.

And then you get to the “Meat Bird” section of the barn. All of these cages are filled with one breed…The Cornish Cross.

The Cornish Cross, or Broiler is a hybrid breed crossing a Cornish with a Plymouth Rock. The resulting bird is fast growing, reaching table weight at around 8 weeks. This quick maturing, large breed makes it a cost effective investment with good feed conversion. Now for someone who wants to raise a meat bird, this would seem to be the breed to get. And I would agree, until you see a broiler in person.

Upon rounding the “Meat Bird” section of the fair, there’s no denying that these birds look different from their egg laying/dual purpose, show bird cousins on the other side of the barn.

Last year at the fair I remembered a specific incident where a little girl tugged on her mother’s shirt tails and asked “Mom, why are those chickens so ugly?” The mom considered this for a moment and then answered. “I think that’s just the kind of chicken they are.”

I had to agree with the little girl. Their bloated bodies flopped awkwardly to one side because their bloated legs couldn’t support the weight. Many were laboring to breath and more than half of their feathers were missing. Frankly, they looked miserable.

The reason these birds look like this is because this particular cross creates a chicken that will outgrow its own body functions. Usually their heart, lungs and legs can’t support the rapid growth and the chicken essentially eats itself to death.

Now I realize that there are many different reasons why people raise their own meat birds. But I would assume that many are doing it for health reasons, wanting to know where your food comes from or because they don’t agree with factory farming practices.

A common experience that I’ve witnessed among friends who raise chickens is that they have their standard chicken flock who lay eggs. Fluffy, the Rhode Island Red; Bertha, the Speckled Sussex, etc. etc. Then if they decide to raise meat birds they pick up a dozen Cornish Cross, raise them to 8 weeks and either process them, or have someone do it for them.

What I find ironic is the difference in standard that we accept for each type of flock. If Fluffy stops laying her eggs we want to know why, if Muffin loses her feathers we want to know why, if Goldie can’t walk we want to know why. Yet the Cornish Cross embraces many health problems and it is simply dismissed as “oh that’s just that breed.”

It’s great to keep our egg layers healthy, but in my opinion, if I had to choose, I would much rather the actual chicken that I’m going to eat directly be as healthy as possible vs. an egg which is somewhat a secondary product. And as a side note, many times an unhealthy chicken won’t lay eggs. Interestingly, most broilers don’t live long enough to even lay eggs if given the chance. I believe that’s food for thought.

Much of processing your own meat is a labor of passion. Butchering chickens in your own backyard is hard. It’s a messy, stinky job and can be somewhat emotional for many. Which in my opinion, is a good thing. I feel that it’s important for people who eat meat to partake in some sort of animal slaughter at least once in their lives. It reenforces appreciation, and awareness of the sacrifice that is made to bring food to the table each day. To look an animal in the eyes and take it’s life to sustain your own should be an important decision done with gratitude and respect.

So as someone who raises backyard meat birds, and takes the time and effort to process our own chickens, I feel passionately that we choose a breed that reflects an animal in good health. Both for the sake of the animal and our own well being.

Now, I have no scientific proof that eating a Cornish Cross is bad for your health, but I do know that those birds look miserable and unhealthy. All I ask is that if you’re considering meat birds, before you decide on the Cornish Cross consider raising a heritage breed. We’ve had great luck with Sussex’s and this year we are trying Jersey Giants. They’re slower to grow and might cost more to raise, but they’re bright eyed, energetic and have lived a good, healthy life. That’s something I feel comfortable feeding my family.

What is your opinion on the Cornish Cross? Am I missing something? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience with this breed. Feel free to share a comment below, or visit the Community Chicken’s Facebook Page.

Leave a Comment

30 Comments

This is our second year raising the Cornish X. The first year we did chicken tractors. Not pretty for these birds, they looked miserable. However, this year we free ranged them. They had to be a normal bird and search for their food. It was served up on a platter for them. Now granted when we did give them feed they would try to lay at the feeder. We raised the feeders to make them stand. We also limited it to a morning snack and evening snack as incentive to go in the coop. The roosters got larger quick we butchered them at 8 weeks and they weighed 12 lbs. they were walking around like the rest or our flock. Full feathered no issues. We did end up with one hen. She started to lay eggs 3 weeks ago. She has laid an egg a day ever since without a miss. I know because she is the only hen old enough to lay right now. We get a double yolker every other day to every 3 days. She is larger than my other birds but seems to be happy and healthy. Based on this experience I will definitely raise these birds again.

As a 4-H leader and a mom Helping my daughters research chicken facts for both their show birds and their meat bird projects, I must say its amazing you are farm based and writing about it. Most of your article is personal opinion and not all factual. “Most” meat birds grown for fairs are not grown so that their bodies can not support themselves. A 7 to 8 week bird is still very much able to walk around, eat, drink and resultantly so not having a heart attack…. This bird is not some genetically alerted mega freak. They are simply a cross breed to produce faster growing, more economical, meat birds. And as a 4-H leader I’d say if you were seeing dirty, non feathered, unsightly birds at your fair, then you are seeing a 4-H project that was not well done. Birds at our fair are entered bathed, cleaned head to toe, baby powdered for extra shine and whiteness, and well cared for the entirety of the fair week. Personal opinion and preference in a breed of meat bird is not facts….

Hi Lindsey! Thank you so much for commenting on this post! It’s great to hear that things are different at your fair, unfortunately I’ve not experienced healthy looking meat birds at the fairs and auctions I’ve visited which is why I encouraged our readers to comment if I was “missing something”. Hope you have a great day and good luck with your project this year!

I have 5 Cornish cross’s in my flock of 12, and they are actually wonderful, bright-eyed, fun-to-watch birds. I don’t feed them high protein meat bird food, I feed them the same feed I give my other girls, and let me tell you, they are plenty healthy and wonderful. They run all over my backyard chasing flies and wasps, eat all my weeds, and peck and scratch just like the rest of my girls. Yes, they grow fast, and are currently twice the size of my Rhode Island Reds and Plymoth Rocks (everyone’s between 5 and 6 months old), but there’s nothing wrong with them. No labored breathing, no heart problems, and they can walk, run, and even jump over two feet in the air trying to get into the front “human entrance” to the coop. They did go through a period of time where they were only half-feathered, and I believe it is due to growing so fast; their feathers hadn’t caught up yet. But they are all fully feathered now! I haven’t seen an egg yet, but I’ve read online from others who have kept a Cornish Cross or two past slaughter time that they do, in fact, lay eggs, and supposedly they’re actually rather large and frequent. I really think it’s just all in how you raise them, what you feed them, and how much activity they get.

They aren’t losing feathers, as a hybrid/cross between breeds they grow exceptionally fast. So fast that their slower growing feathers don’t cover them completely as say a heritage breeds would. Mine are very clean friendly free rangers that walk slower than the rest but I’d never say they are nasty. If you have ever seen a true Cornish meat chicken then you would know where they get the features from, very stocky good meat birds. The growth rate is slowed down with proper care. For a fair showing their goal is the same as big meat production get as big as possible as fast as possible. Meaning they are stuffed in a small cage and fed 24/7 with a red light on them. But they are great birds.

I absolutely love my Cornish cross BUT I don’t over feed them and encouraged them to forage from a young age. My hens are fantastic layers and our rooster is a sweetheart. We got them by accident (went to buy laying only) but as soon as I figured out what they were we made sure to feed them a bit less, and a little more healthy. It breaks my heart that they are prone to such health problems all for profit and greed. My chooks are lovely and I would never want an animal to suffer just for my dinner.

This is a very good article….I enjoyed it very much. I’m at a My personal experience in raising Cornish cross was a very good one. It was a few years ago I had the opportunity to raise them for a little side money. I didnt have feed available to them all the time and they had plenty of room to roam. My chicks were always in good health…I never had any problems. I kept my chicks until around the 8 to 10 week stage before butchering.
I wonder like many cattle and hog feed lots, these chickens have fallen under the “stuff them full of feed” mentality, thus causing the health issues. Most animals are “production” species. I find all these feed lots and massive buildings full of poultry to be very disturbing. I believe we need farms to raise meat for people, however I believe whole heartedly that quality of life of the animal is paramount to a good end product. On that note…the way in which the animal is killed is also a huge subject to me. A violent killing is the norm, unfortunately which also sends adrenaline throughout the animals blood stream and muscle tissue making meat tough and leaving that adrenaline in the end product. Our animals are a gift to us and treating them with respect and honor is the only way to have an end product that is a quality product. Before you send your animals to slaughter talk to your butcher to find his or her method of killing. Also, thank you animals for giving their life in order to continue yours. I may be a “tree hugger” but appreciating life in all forms is our privilege. Thanks for listening.

New to backyard chicken thought I was getting Leghorns in a batch of mixed chicks but turns out they are Cornish Cross by photos I have seen. Now about 11 wks old. Will keep them as pets as they are sweet natured but yes they are little pigs and eat more then my 5 19 wk old Isabrowns. Sad to hear they have a short lifespan, how long do they live?

I was told once by a family member that Cornish Cross’ are the only meat bird to raise for food. They said the other birds they have tried were all too tough. Have you tried other meat birds and/or dual birds for food? Is there another breed of bird that has good tender moist meat like the Cornish Cross? Or at least pretty close to being tender like the Cornish Cross?

This is the. First time to raise meat chicken and I chose Cornish rock. I was told they are the meat bird to raise. They are 2 1/2 weeks old and as you said are the worse looking bird I have ever seen. I agree with you if I plan on eating it I prefer that it doesn’t look sick lookingor so ugly. At this point I don’t plan on raising any more Cornish rock. Everyone says the taste of the bird makes it worth it. All i can say,they better taste exceptionally good.

“Now, I have no scientific proof that eating a Cornish Cross is bad for your health, but I do know that those birds look miserable and unhealthy.”

Fear-monger much?

Because you do not like something, does not make it bad or wrong, and it certainly doesn’t make it cruel and unhealthy. If seeing birds in cages at the fair is the sum total of your experience, I don’t think that qualifies you to write an article about them. At my fair, the kids get Cinnamon Queens to raise, and the ones that win are the ones who seriously push high protein feed and have them laying by 18 weeks – many of those birds die in or before their first molt from that. Should I write an entire article implying that eggs laid by Cinnamon Queens are unhealthy?
Or would we all recognize that as nonsense?

Here are some facts about Cornish Cross, which seem to be sorely lacking;
They are simply a mixed breed – a special kind of mixed breed called a “terminal cross” – which every agriculture major knows simply means a cross of 3 or more breeds or lines crossed specifically so that all the resulting offspring are for market, as opposed to further breeding.
This is also done in cattle, pigs and even sheep, so if you’ve ever eaten meat from the store, you’ve eaten exactly this sort of cross breed.
Parent lines A and B are crossed to get maternal line C, which is bred to paternal breed D and there you have your Cornish cross. They’ve been around since the 1950’s, so with some knowledge of breeding, you could do it in your own backyard like others have done, such as the White Sully line.
Like all specialty breeds, they need knowledgeable keeping. Thoroughbreds are not raised the same as Quarter horses, Jersey cattle are not raised the same as Angus, wool sheep need more care from their keepers than hair sheep and Cornish Cross chickens need a different feeding schedule and bigger quarters than laying hens. If you want large amounts of something from an animal, be is speed, milk, wool or meat, you need to manage that animal in such a way as to allow them to give it to you.

As far as CX being filthy and disease ridden, I have to attribute that to the chicken keeper’s skill. I have heard the same complaints made about pigs, and given *enough space* and *proper feeding* my pigs have been the cleanest animals on the place, and I’ve never had a sick one.
Same with my Cornish Cross chickens. If I give them the space I’d give a 3 week old layer, they’d be filthy – if I give them the space that any other 2 lb bird would get, they are as clean as any other 2 lb bird. But please recall that they ARE 3 week old birds, and need the same protection as you’d give any other 3 week old birds, and they will be perfectly healthy.
Fed *properly*, mine scratch and sun and dust bathe, preen and play exactly like all my other chickens. They live happy, natural lives for the 10 weeks they are with me, and their meat is firm and flavorful.

If a person is going to keep an animal, they should learn about it, and not just assume things because they’ve kept a different breed for a different purpose. If I kept my dairy goats the same way I keep meat goats, they’d be sickly and likely die – should I blame the fact that different breeds for different purposes have different nutritional/care needs or should I blame my own ignorance when they do?
Again, put that way, the argument seems silly, but for some reason people blame the breed when all chicken breeds aren’t cared for alike.

Please do more research before fear-mongering and down-talking a specialty breed of anything.

THIS is the type of information that’s needed about raising animals. True facts on animal husbandry, not scare tactics based on someone transferring their feelings about a single incident observing something they don’t understand.

I have raised Cornish cross chickens for over 10 years now and I have never killed them out at eight weeks, they are slowly grown with a mixed diet including fresh greens and they have never been unable to walk and never loose their feathers. And have never been agressive.
I presume its how people raise them is the main problem. I prefer to raise our own so we know how its being raised, what it consumes and hopefully has a stress free life.
I have tried duel purpose hens but I find they are never as good as the actual meat hen.
We do have Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons they are great layers but as for meat, I was very dissapointed, and the Reds can be very aggressive to the other laying hens.
I suppose we are all different in our approaches and it is intersting to see others opinions.

I raise Buff Orpingtons for both eggs and meat. Last year a friend of mine, her sister and I went in on a batch of Cornish Crosses raised at my friend’s house. It was a learning experience for all of us. They were so different from both my chickens and my friend’s sister’s (mixed egg layers and dual purpose breeds). We had no health problems, processed the last ones at about 12 weeks but they were gross to raise! Big, aggressive, DIRTY and so hungry ALL the time they would just bite you! My friend quickly learned there would be no fun in calling the birds and throwing down food like with the other kinds. They would just mob and bite her legs, hard! And to process they were also just gross, dirty birds. I don’t fast my Orpingtons, no need, but the Cornish were so full of food from start to finish, literally food falling out of their mouths while we were doing the deed. We fasted the second batch for 24 hours and it made almost no difference their guts were just packed and nasty. We all agreed they were weird, mutant, nasty chickens and even though they dressed out quite large and did taste better than supermarket birds (we raised them organically with lots of fresh food) we also felt their flavor didn’t hold a candle to the heritage breeds and I myself thought they were rather mushy and bland. Next year we’re doing it again but this time we will try some Red rangers instead!

It truly is all about how you raise and feed them!! If they are free range and able to get enough space and run about they aren’t mean or gross. If they are kept in smaller quarters, yes they will smell and likely have health issues. The free range ones are just so much different, so it is how you were raising them and NOT how the breed is.

Hi,
I agree with Jason. While crosses can be bald, sloppy and different, when they are free ranged, not overfed, and allowed to act like chickens they loose most of those problems. And they do have personalities. I had a cross rooster who talked to me whenever I was around and would always answer when I spoke to him. I never understood a word he said, but since he did not crow until 26 weeks of age was good natured and fun to watch as he towered over his siblings and the older hens he lived to a ripe old cross age, was fully feathered and sturdy. He decided to start crowing then and dressed at 13+ pounds.
I actually prefer to caponize large dual purpose roosters and raise them to size for eating,( the difference between eating veal and aged steak flavor wise), but for pure meat production and raising costs crosses can’t be beaten.
B

I raised 20 Cornish cross this spring. Fed them only organic feed and moved the tractor once a day. Mine were fully feathered and healthy when slaughtered at 9 weeks; I didn’t lose one. Let’s face it, these are being raised for meat. A processed Cornish cross looks just like a processed heritage breed! They are all delicious!

I agree Jason. We raise Cornish crosses every year.
Ours have plenty of room to move around and exhibit typical “chicken” behavior including chest bumping, running and jostling with the others. They are pretty and friendly. They are obviously healthy with bright red combs and wattles and clear eyes. We enjoy knowing exactly what our birds eat and that they are humanely treated. They lead a stress free life right up to the time of slaughter, which is quick. They are tender and delicious. Just as we never buy store bought eggs since raising our own hens ( heritage breeds) we don’t buy chicken for meat at the grocery store. I don’t see where they are “ugly” at all.

I have been rasing cornish cross broilers for quite a few years ( over 8 years). We usually get 50 at a time and raise them just for our own use. If you only feed them for 12 hours a day and move their pen often enough so they are getting plenty of grazing and bugs, they forgage quite well and don’t develop very many leg problems. You can still have a bird that might be bowlegged, but not all of them. IF they don’t get sun, you will have a lot of bowlegged ones. I have let them free range, but I have found you need to get them to a size that the hawks can’t easily handle or they are hawk fodder. I let mine go until they are 12 or 16 weeks of age. So far this year, at 4 weeks of age, we have 50 out of 50 chicks left. No leg problems showing. When I was in my teens, ( 40 years ago) I had some cornish rock crosses live until they were over 16 months of age. They were friendly and loved to follow me around.

The cornish rock cross are what you make of them. If you put them in an environment where they can only sit in their feces while they feed 24/7 that is what they will do. If you have them on pasture, they will happily run around and eat bugs and clover all day long and stop to top off at the feeder. I have butchered and eaten other breeds, but the cornish rock cross does provide more meat in a shorter amount of time on pasture.
I have to pay a lot more to get rainbow broilers and I am not sure it will be worth it.

We haven’t bought chicken at a grocery store in 5 years. Haven’t bought beef in about a year. We also raise our own goat and rabbits, we are working on hogs now too. All of this meat is muchbetter because it is raised by us on pasture. Our pastures have also improved. Haven’t bought eggs in over 5 years too. Pastured laying hens is the way to go.

I totally agree with you. We had them one year, we lost a few in the beginning with what I think was breathing problems. Then just before the butching time. I had about 5 to 8 that died because there legs gave out and they couldn’t get to there food or water. I carried them from water to feed and even the shade.
I now buy the Giant White Slow growers. They take about 13 to 15 weeks but well worth the time. They are very juicy and joints are easy when cooked.
They are my favorite. Only my opinion.
Thanks

I understand about the fair broilers, my girls were in FFA and raised goats and I had to help hold the meat birds to show. In a fair/rodeo all the people care about is raiseing them to sell and make the money on their projects, these are kids. I have raised broilers and I have 10 right now the black broilers, I lock them up at night and let them out in the morning, I feed 12 on and 12 off, they got watermellon today, my last broilers had all their feathers and running around the pen like normal chickens, I too start to butcher the larger ones first, I always thank them for letting me take their life to nourish our bodys, it is hard but I do this myself since I raise them, I just tell my husband to give me time and it is true they do taste better than store bought chickens.

I agree with the author. I have raised the Cornish/Plymouth Rock cross twice. I free-ranged them. Even though they were in a very spacious pen, they stayed close to the food source and waddled around. They are disgusting feeders and I had one die suddenly (heart attack?) and one go lame. They are pitiful and freakish looking. I prefer the White Plymouth Rock and Buff Orphington as a dual purpose bird.

It’s unfortunate for you that you haven’t seen a healthy Cornish Cross. We have raised 2 large batches of 160+ on pasture this year and have found these birds are extremely happy. They are moved in their tractors twice a day to have fresh greens, fodder and all the bugs they can eat along with an organic grain mash mixed with organic sea kelp to help sturdy those legs. We only feed them 12 hours on 12 hours off to insure their growth isn’t escalated to the point their legs won’t hold them. They all have healthy combs and are always happy to see us…normally this means they are going to be fed :). I would just say please be careful what you write when it really isn’t fact. We care for our birds so others in our community and our family can enjoy food that truly is so much more healthy and taste better than a store bought bird. Good husbandry goes along way and I encourage others to really understand and learn as much as you can about what you raise or grow, it goes a long way to having productive, healthy pets, and nutritious food. My guess those birds you saw at the fair were extreamly overheated and just needed cool fresh air to perk them back up.

Mine are left to free-range so they get more exercise than most do. They also live longer. I don’t grow them as fast. I have had them lay eggs, when I have neglected to butcher them all. We don’t have a huge amount of freezer space, so we process the largest ones first. They are admittedly ugly, so it isn’t as difficult to process them as it would be a ‘pretty’ breed. They can be nasty and disgusting, which also helps with not minding the processing. Mine are not fatty, because I don’t grow them out quite as fast.

I raise the usual Cornish Cross broilers that Tractor Supply sells every spring. This year I had a dozen and I did not have the problems that everyone tells me about. My birds were beautiful. They had all of their feathers. I did not have issues with broken bones or birds unable to walk. We did lose 2, that was due to my stupidity–we had a spring heat wave, and I still had the birds using the portable greenhouse as a coop. I find that they have no tolerance for heat above 80 degrees. As they got older, it became difficult for those large birds to get up the steep hill in my backyard–they free ranged.

I probably let them go for a lot longer than I should have. We processed the chickens at 13 weeks and they were the size of small turkeys. Dressed out they averaged over 10 pounds each.

I found their personalities to be wonderful. They were mellow and they were always happy to see us. Personally, I think broilers get a bad rap. Maybe it is because we tend not to like things we are going to kill.

John

4 years ago

I have raised cornish cross chickens many times in the past.
This year I have chosen to try the red rangers and some called chef’s choice.
I love the flavor of a cornish cross, but due to elevation issues I am forced to go with a slower growing bird.
Yes, the cornish cross I’d a bit strange looking, but as others have stated they are a purpose bred bird. The only problem I have EVER encountered is high elevation. The super cross birds don’t do well above 5000 feet. Last year I lost half my flock do to heart failure before mature weight. They were fully feathered and fairly active tho. Plenty of green grass and varied diet.
For food to meat ratio these chickens have no equal. I am enjoying the red rangers and chef’s choice birds but at 5 weeks are far behind the cornish on size. They seem to eat the same amount of food tho.
Cornish cross chickens get a bad rap. These birds I am growing now have the same body structure and look to them, just a different color And slower growing. It comes down to proper care for your birds. If you have had a bad experience, perhaps examine any mistakes you have made, learn from them and try again before condemning an entire strain of bird that seems to have worked so well for so long..